Don't eat the Poisonberries
by Elithien
Summary: A young Maedhros and Maglor are sitting down together making little bundles of flowers for their mother when Maedhros notices that Maglor hasn’t yet been told an important thing. So being a good older brother, he tells Maglor what that little bit of ‘


**Disclaimer:** All characters and places in here have come out of the _Silmarillion_ by JRR. Tolkien.

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**Don't eat the Poisonberries**

"Are those little things tadpoles?"

Maedhros looked from the bundle of wild flowers he was tying up, a present for his mother, to the little creek. Sure enough there were little things with tails, green and slimy looking, that wiggled around in the water, through the rocks and plants. 

"Yes," he answered his little brother.

"…do you think we can take some home?" 

Maedhros stopped turning the twine around the flower stems and looked into the creek, his small brows frowning. 

"No," he answered at last. 

The two sat on the bank of the creek, feet dangling in the cool creek. It was near to the second mingling of lights and Laurelin's light was waning swiftly, whereas Telperion's light blossomed in the cool air. 

Since the waning of Telperion he and his brother had been exploring the newly found area and at last, after a whole day of running about, they sat together silently till they were called to go home. 

"Why not?" Maglor asked, dipping his finger into the creek and giggling as the tadpoles swam away from his finger. 

"Because they'll grow big and warty and then they'll eat you," Maedhros said.

"Really!" Maglor asked, his eyes widening in shock and his mouth remaining open. 

Maedhros nodded and pointed to the creek.

Maglor looked to the creek and saw upon a lily pad, a big warty toad, sitting still, looking grumpy.

"That isn't big-"

"Look!" Maedhros cut in with a whisper. 

Maglor turned and looked back at the toad. It sat on its lily pad perfectly still. Then a dragonfly came flying by and suddenly the toad's tongue came out of it's mouth, seizing the dragonfly, and the toad swallowed the pretty winged creature – all in an instant. 

The younger son of Fёanáro gasped and turned to his elder brother.

"Did you see that!" 

Maedhros turned to his little brother and nodded solemnly.

"And that's why you shouldn't take tadpoles home."

"Oh."

Maglor nodded and continued to concentrate on the bundle of wildflowers he was tying up for their mother. 

"Can I add some of those white flowers into my bundle too?" he asked, looking at his brother.

"Which white flowers?" Maedhros asked.

Maglor stood up and walked towards a small clump of fluffy white flowers beside a tree and picked a few, bringing them back and showing them to Maedhros.

"No. They'll make you itchy," Maedhros said. 

"Are you sure? They look really nice," Maglor said looking at the flowers.

"Alright then you can add them to your bundle," Maedhros said. 

Maglor nodded and took a big whiff of the fluffy white flowers. 

His face was expressionless for a few seconds. Then his nose began to wrinkle and his eyes water. Next thing he was throwing the flowers into the creek and sneezing.

"I think those are the ones that make you sneeze." 

"Oh."

The two sat silently together for a while, listening to the croaking toads and frogs and the soft chirps of crickets. In silence they sat, that was, until Maglor noticed a small bush nearby filled with many red coloured berry-looking fruit. 

"What berries are those?" he asked Maedhros. 

Maedhros turned and looked at the bush. 

"Poisonberries," Maedhros answered. 

"Poisonberries? I've never heard of those berries," Maglor said frowning. His little hands reached out and picked a few of the shiny red berries.

He held them in his palm and fingered them. 

"Do they call these berries Poisonberries because they're poisoness?"

"No."

"Do they hurt your belly?" 

"No."

Maglor frowned and eyed the berries. If they were not poisoness and if they did not hurt your belly then surely they could be eaten? 

Behind him Maedhros watched his little brother lift the berries to his mouth. Mother had always said never to eat unknown berries, no matter how safe they looked because there was a chance that the berries would not be safe. It was clear though that Maglor had not been told this little piece of advice. 

A small smile formed over the eldest son of Fёanor's lips as he watched his little brother. Perhaps he could tell his brother himself…well not really _tell him__._

The berries were only few millimeters from Maglor's lips, when swiftly, with only the sound of his little hands cutting through the air, Maedhros hit his brother in the ear.

Maglor immediately dropped all the berries in his hand and held his ear painfully.

"They don't hurt your belly…but they make you go deaf."

"Oh."


End file.
